Conservatively Speaking
State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
State Budget Watch: Governor Doyle makes his vetoes
By Mary Lazich
Friday, Oct 26 2007, 09:35 AM
Governor Doyle signed the state budget this morning at the UW-Madison.
The Governor used his veto authority to eliminate the levy limit placed on technical colleges. The budget approved by the Legislature this week had imposed a cap on growth for technical colleges at four percent.
The Governor also used his veto pen to relax the limit placed on local governments by allowing municipalities to increase their levies by 3.86 percent or the rate of new construction for 2007.
The Governor’s actions almost certainly signal increases in local property taxes, especially for technical colleges that have seen the largest increases of any portion of local property tax bills in recent years.
Consider the total tax levies for the state's16 technical colleges. According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, the technical college tax levies have increased from $251 million in 1992-'93 to $622 million in 2005-'06. That’s an increase of almost 150 percent compared to a 75 percent increase in overall levies during the same time period.
Governor Doyle exempted technical colleges from levy limits in the 2005-07 state budget. Unelected technical college boards were then free to raise tax levies, and taxpayers were powerless. Without levy limits, technical college boards will once again be able to approve high tax increases without recourse thanks to the Governor and his veto pen.
Here is the Governor’s veto message.
